I have two primary triggers when it comes to stress in my life: safety and respect. Safety can take many forms. Psychological and emotional safety, financial security, and physical well-being are the top three for me. Threats to those areas of my life and I feel it in my stomach. The dread and the fear roll up to my chest, and I will respond by becoming withdrawn and hypervigilant. I don’t sleep well. I lose my appetite. I have problems focusing my thoughts. And this type of stress can last for days. Threats to respect are just as broad. They can range from microaggression in the workplace, my children breaking rules in my house knowingly, or someone spelling my name with one ‘L’. When I face these threats, I feel tension in my neck and jaw. I don't feel fear but anger and hostility. I become short, obviously irritated and I find it hard to breath. And sometimes when I am at a complete loss, I cry. Depending on the threat. I tend to manage stress differently. Safety threats, I manage by forming game plans and figuring out alternative paths that I can take. In dealing with stress from embattled respect, I exercise or clean the house (rage cleaning is therapeutic!). Physiological experiences of stress can be diverse yet they form a pattern in our lives. As such, we can trace symptoms back to a root causes, allowing for self-assessment and increased awareness of triggers and our responses. What does your stress look like? What are your primary triggers? How do you manage?